Sky
by XpaperplaneX
Summary: When your date's the only person in the city with access to flowers... Zack and Aerith's second date.


Title: Sky  
Author: XpaperplaneX  
Genre: romance  
Rating: G  
Word count: ~1300  
Pairings: Aerith/Zack  
Warnings: none  
Status: one-shot, complete  
Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII and make no money from this work.  
Summary: When your date's the only person in the city with access to flowers… Zack and Aerith's second date.

A/N: This is Urplesquirrel's birthday fic! Happy birthday! It's not even a week late! ... Wait, I'm probably not supposed to be proud about that. Especially since it's _almost_ a week late. Anyways, she asked for Zack/Aerith fluff and fluff is what she got. The ending is terrible due to not being able to have her yell at me until I fixed it. (And that's the problem with gift fics for your beta.)

XXX

Zack checked his hair in the mirror one last time; he _had _to make a better impression this time. For their first date, they had spent most of the time running around looking for a pickpocket. And then he had come back from retrieving the kid's wallet covered in monster guts, although Aerith hadn't seemed to mind that too much. She had just been so happy that the kid had been able to buy the medicine for his mother. So, Zack thought as he arranged his bangs, while he probably _did _make a good impression, it wasn't really the _kind_ of good impression that he had wanted to make. After a cute girl tells you that she thinks SOLDIERs are scary because they kill things and like it, going out and killing things isn't the best way to win her heart.

He debated about leaving his sword behind, but decided that, considering where they were going, it would be better to bring it, just in case. He swung the sword over his shoulder and headed for the door, grabbing Kunsel's car keys off the key hook as he went. He'd be early if he left now, but that was part of the plan.

Driving in the slums was difficult, at best, and Kunsel's car wasn't exactly in the greatest shape. He ended up having to park quite a ways away from Aerith's church and walked the remainder of the way. When he got to the majestic double doors of the collapsing building, he knocked twice and pushed them open with a creak.

"Hello? Miss Gainsborough?" he called out.

"Zack? What are you- You're early! Give me half a minute." Aerith jumped up from among the flowers and looked around frantically for something to wipe her hands off with.

"Wait, wait! I'm not here yet!" Zack rushed forward in an attempt to stop her from running off to change.

"You're… what?" Aerith paused, confused.

"See, I've got a date this afternoon with a really great girl and I want to bring her some flowers. I heard that you're the person to talk to if you need flowers, so I wondered if you might be able to sell me a bouquet." Zack cringed inwardly; that sounded a lot lamer than it had in his head. Aerith giggled, though, so maybe it wasn't too bad.

"I suppose I could do that. What kind of flowers did you have in mind?"

"Well, I'm not too sure exactly what she likes, but I was thinking maybe some of those big white ones with some of the little purple ones around them."

"Hmm, that would be pretty. How about some of the yellow ones too?"

"That'd be great! I'm sure she'll love it."

Aerith set about gathering the flowers, occasionally tossing glances his way and giggling. When she had the ones she wanted, she brought them over to a table and started arranging them into a bouquet.

"I brought a ribbon, do you think you could tie the bouquet with it?" Zack held out a pale purple silk ribbon.

"Of course I can. Oh, it's so pretty! She'll love it!"

Zack couldn't help but grin at the way Aerith was playing along. She was going to be fun, he knew it. She finished tying the bouquet and handed it over to him.

"Here you go, sir. Enjoy your date."

"How much do I owe you?"

"You don't-"

"Of course I do! You can't run a business if you don't charge people! Here, is thirty gil enough?"

"That's way too much, Zack! I can't accept that!"

"Sure you can, come on, they're totally worth it."

"How about ten?"

"Twenty's my final offer. I'd be taking advantage of you otherwise."

"Fine," Aerith conceded.

Zack gleefully handed over the gil and popped her a cheeky salute. "Thanks, miss! My date'll be thrilled. Speaking of which, I should let her get ready." He headed back out the doors and took a seat on the steps outside to wait until he was _actually_ supposed to show up.

XXX

When Zack opened the heavy doors again, Aerith had changed into a significantly less muddy pink dress that matched the ribbon he had bought for her.

"You look great, Aerith," he said with a smile, holding the flowers behind his back.

"Do you like it?" Aerith spun around on her toes. "It's new."

"It's cute. I think it really suits you. Here, these are for you." Zack held out the flowers with a grin. "A really sweet flower girl helped me put together a bouquet."

Aerith laughed and took the flowers from him. "You're really weird, you know that?"

Zack shrugged. "I like to think of it as romantic. And I wanted to get you flowers, but you're the only person in the whole city who grows them. You've at least got to acknowledge that I've got guts for even attempting something as dorky as that."

"Hmm," Aerith pondered it while twirling a finger through her hair, "Yes, it is romantic and you've got guts. And it was really nice of you to want to bring me flowers, so thank you."

"And hey, this way you get flowers that you like. Are you ready to go?"

"Yep, just let me put these in some water." Aerith grabbed a vase off a rickety old counter and filled it from a bucket. She took care in making sure that the ribbon wasn't getting wet, then turned back to Zack. "Okay, I'm ready. Where are we going?"

"To see the sky." At the look of horror on Aerith's face, Zack quickly added, "Don't worry, it's not scary at all. I found a great place with a beautiful view and I really think you'll like it. I've got stuff for a picnic packed and if it's too much there's a little overhang near the place I found and we can hide under there."

"Okay, okay." Aerith held up her hands. "You'll keep me safe?"

"You bet. There's nothing to be worried about. There's also Kunsel's car to take shelter in if you need to."

"All right," Aerith stuck out her chin in determination, "Let's go."

XXX

Zack pulled the car to a stop a little ways away from his intended destination and got out to open the door for Aerith. She giggled when he held out his hand for her and took it gracefully. She looked upwards with an expression of awe and clung to Zack's hand just a little bit tighter.

"It's so big," she remarked. "And the sun's so bright."

"Yeah, it's amazing what not having a great big stinkin' plate over your head can do for the light quality. Come on, the place I want to go is just a bit further ahead."

"Okay," Aerith smiled and loosened her grip on his hand while they walked towards a plateau overlooking the wastelands of Midgar. When they reached the top, she looked around, puzzled. "Why this place? It's special to you, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I don't know why I chose this particular plateau, but there's something about this spot. It feels like I belong here."

"Hmm." Aerith crouched down and ran her hands through the cracked soil. "It feels strange. Something happened here… or maybe it hasn't happened yet," she seemed to be talking more to herself when she spoke.

"Are you okay?" Zack asked. Aerith looked troubled, he didn't like that expression; it didn't suit her at all.

"Yes, I'm fine. This is a lovely spot." Aerith stood and dusted off her hands, smiling brightly. "Did you mention a picnic? I'm starving."


End file.
